Baking with ChatGPT – Feta & Bacon Pasties Video

Below is a recipe created by ChatGPT – I love that it’s using ready-made pastry – I’ve not had great luck in making nice pastry so, bonus.

I’m going to follow the recipe properly and not make any changes unless I *really* have to. I’ve utilised stable diffusion to generate an image to work to as well. Here’s the image it created. I have to say, the “cheese” doesn’t look like feta. They look tasty though!

None of the ingredients or instructions have been changed. However, I will use common sense if something doesn’t seem right when I’m actually cooking. Any changes or tweaks I will make a note of at the bottom of the page.

Search Term: **Feta and Bacon Pasties Recipe**

*Preparation Time: 30 minutes*

*Baking Time: 25-30 minutes*

*Servings: Makes about 6 pasties*

**Ingredients:**

– 320g ready-made shortcrust pastry (store-bought or homemade)
– 150g feta cheese, crumbled
– 100g bacon, cooked and chopped
– 1 small onion, finely chopped
– 1 tablespoon olive oil
– 1 teaspoon dried oregano
– Salt and pepper, to taste
– 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)

**Instructions:**

1. **Preheat the Oven:** Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F). Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

2. **Prepare Filling:** In a frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the finely chopped onion and cook until softened and translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the chopped bacon to the pan and cook for another 3-4 minutes until the bacon is slightly crispy. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

3. **Mix Filling Ingredients:** In a mixing bowl, combine the crumbled feta cheese, cooked onion and bacon mixture, and dried oregano. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well until all ingredients are evenly distributed.

4. **Roll out Pastry:** Roll out the shortcrust pastry on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about 3-4mm (1/8 inch). Using a round cutter or a small plate as a guide, cut out circles of pastry, each about 12-15cm (5-6 inches) in diameter.

5. **Fill and Seal Pasties:** Spoon a generous portion of the feta and bacon mixture onto one half of each pastry circle, leaving a small border around the edge. Fold the other half of the pastry over the filling to create a half-moon shape. Press the edges firmly together to seal.

6. **Crimp Edges:** Using a fork, crimp the sealed edges of each pasty to create a decorative pattern and ensure they are securely closed.

7. **Brush with Egg Wash:** Place the pasties on the prepared baking tray. Brush the tops of the pasties with beaten egg to give them a golden finish when baked.

8. **Bake:** Place the baking tray in the preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the pasties are golden brown and crisp.

9. **Serve:** Remove the pasties from the oven and allow them to cool slightly before serving. Enjoy your delicious feta and bacon pasties as a snack or light meal!

These pasties can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature. They can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Simply reheat them in the oven or microwave before serving. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

These came out lovely. They were tasty and despite my original reservation about them maybe being too rich, they were actually perfect. Mine look nothing like the AI generated ones in the first image above, but, they turned out great and were delicious. I’d have settled for edible!

The bacon I used was from a pack of cooking bacon. Most UK supermarkets sell this in 500g to 1KG packs. The one I used was from Morrisons, which at time of writing was £1 for 500g. It was perfect for these pasties and there was lots left over.
As with most recipes, the first step is always to pre-heat the oven. This is fine if you have an older oven that takes a while to pre-heat, but read through the steps of a recipe in advance. In this one the oven is pre-heated and then you cook and cool a few bits, then make the pasties and only then do you utilise the oven that’s been sat hot for a while by this point. To me it’s a waste of energy. If you have an idea of how long your oven takes to pre-heat use your knowledge to figure out the best time to pre-heat. Or better still, just make the pasties slightly earlier than you’ll need to start cooking and have a cuppa while the oven is pre-heating. Our oven only takes a few minutes, so I didn’t bother pre-heating until I’d completely finished making them.
Frying the bacon… I think maybe a little longer than the 3-4 minutes. I cooked it to the 4 minute mark and stopped in order to prove the recipe. However, I think if I’d cooked a little longer, it would have imparted even more flavour.
The top end of the cook time (30 minutes) was perfect for our oven. They were checked at 25 but clearly needed a little more time. Just keep an eye on them from 25 minutes and you’ll be fine.
The recipe claims to make 6 pasties. I actually managed to get eight out of the mix (that used up two rolls of pastry).
I can’t speak to whether or not they would keep for three days in the fridge as claimed because we devoured six when they came out of the oven and the two that were left were eaten for lunch the following day! I can however, confirm that they were even better cold on day two.

Well there we have it. ChatGPT PASS! They were delicious, and easy to make. I’ll definitely have to try more recipes this way. If you have any ideas for search terms (maybe that might throw the odd curveball), please let me know contact@bakingbrit.co.uk